Green Tomato Catsup

When frost threatens and you’ve still got a bushel of unripe tomatoes on the vine, this old-fashioned green tomato catsup puts every last one to good use. It’s a heritage-style condiment from the era when canning season meant using what the garden gave you.

Grinding the tomatoes together with cabbage, apples, bell peppers, and onions creates a chunky relish base with layers of sweet, tart, and savory flavor. The apples add natural sweetness and body, while hot chili peppers bring adjustable heat.

This is a big-batch recipe built for a full day of canning. Everything gets ground, simmered in a vinegar-sugar brine with pickling spices, and sealed in sterilized jars. The boil time is short, just 10 minutes, so the vegetables keep some texture rather than cooking down into mush.

Chef Tips

• Use a food grinder or pulse in a food processor for a consistent, chunky texture. Avoid pureeing too fine or you’ll lose the relish-like character
• Adjust the hot chili peppers to your heat tolerance. Start with fewer and add more after tasting the heated mixture
• Make sure jars and lids are properly sterilized and sealed while the catsup is still hot for safe shelf storage
• This catsup improves after a few weeks in the jar as the flavors marry together

Variations

• Add mustard seed or celery seed to the pickling spice mix for a more complex flavor
• Use apple cider vinegar instead of white for a mellower, rounder tang
• For a smoother ketchup-style consistency, blend the ground mixture before cooking